Forest Certification in Developing and Transitioning ... - UTas ePrints

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forest certification in developing and transitioning countries
Despite the existence of the Logging Code of Practice and other legal arrangements,
PNG’s forest resources are mismanaged and resource owners do not get the maximum
benefit from their resources. Local land and community groups are marginalised and
mistreated and are fought in court. One example of this mismanagement occurred
when the National Forest Board gave approval for what was presented as a small agricultural
clearance operation that turned out to be a large-scale logging operation
involving the export of logs worth over US$10 million. This project was sponsored by
a logging company with a record of illegal forest practices (Masalai 2002) and illustrates
the complete failure of governance in the logging sector.
In another example, Justice Mark Sevua of the National Court commented that
national government turns a blind eye to the cries of the resource owners of PNG and
ignores their interests. He stated that the Minister for Forests did not take the interests
of the village people who own the forest resources into consideration; he argued that
the interests of the resource owners could not be brushed aside. Judge Sevua’s comments
were made in a case involving Frontier Holdings (a subsidiary of the giant
Malaysian logging company Rimbunan Hijau) being sued by Vailala Purari (a
landowner company) (Post Courier 2003).
Mistreatment such as that outlined above is often exposed by non-government
organizations. An NGO umbrella organization called Eco-forestry Forum (EFF) and
other legal organizations have helped local communities and have had some successes.
For instance, Greenpeace is one prominent organisation that supports the local customary
forest owners and fights illegal deals that are environmentally unsustainable.
Legal NGOs assisting the forest resource owners in their court battles include Centre
for Environmental Law and Community Rights (CELCOR) and the Environmental
Law Centre (ELC). In addition, local eco-forestry and community development NGOs
like Foundation for People and Community Development Inc. (FPCD), Village
Development Trust (VDT) and the former Pacific Heritage Foundation (PHF)
attempt to produce sustainable certified alternatives using small sawmills.
Structural Features
Forest Area and Location
Papua New Guinea extends from 3 degrees below the equator to 12 degrees south and
is directly north of Australia and east of Indonesia. PNG has by far the largest area of
tropical rainforest in the Oceania region. The forests of the Island of New Guinea
(PNG and West Papua together) account for the third largest remaining block of tropical
rainforest on the planet after the Amazon and Congo forests (Chatterton et al.
2000). The total land area of PNG is 46 million ha, and over 77 percent is covered in
some kind of forest ranging from mangroves on the coast to high altitude alpine forest
at about 3,000 meters above sea level.
About 80 percent of the total population of PNG (5.2 million with a growth rate of
2 percent) are based in rural areas and there are over 800 languages and tribal groups
(FSP/PNG 1993). Ninety-seven percent of land in PNG is customary owned by traditional
land groups; the state owns the other 3 percent, which is mainly in urban areas.
yale school of forestry & environmental studies